Trump beams as RFK Jr compares his administration's 'transparency' to John F Kennedy's

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump received an unusual historical comparison from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr during a televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, July 31, as RFK Jr likened Trump's accessibility to the media to that of his late uncle, former President John F Kennedy. 

According to the White House, it was the first televised Cabinet meeting ever held at Camp David. Kennedy's remarks came as he reflected on returning to Camp David for the first time since visiting as a child during the Kennedy administration.

RFK Jr recalls Kennedy family visits before comparing Trump's openness

Speaking before discussing his department's health initiatives, Kennedy paused to reflect on the setting, telling Trump he had not been back to Camp David in more than six decades.

"Before the press came and you asked all the Cabinet members who had been to Camp David before. I think about three-quarters of them had," Kennedy said. "I raised my hand, but I haven't been here for 62 years."

Recalling childhood visits between 1961 and 1963, Kennedy said, "My father loved this place, my uncle loved this place," referring to former Attorney General Robert F Kennedy and President John F Kennedy. Kennedy then compared Trump's approach to the media with that of his late uncle.

"My uncle prided himself on being the most open, transparent administration in history," he said, noting that JFK's administration was the first to televise presidential press conferences. "During his 1,000 days in office, he had about 30 press conferences. You, Mr President, have press conferences every day."

The comparison drew laughter from Cabinet members as Trump smiled. Kennedy went on to tell the president that he had faced "the most hostile press corps" of any president in US history. "And here you've opened the inner sanctum of the presidency for the first time in history, and I think that's a beautiful thing," Kennedy added.

Trump responds as Camp David hosts first televised Cabinet meeting

Trump responded by pointing to a portrait of John F Kennedy hanging in the conference room. "Handsome guy," the president said. "That's quite a picture. Did you see it?"

The Cabinet meeting was the first ever to be televised from the 125-acre presidential retreat, according to the White House. Trump previously held a Cabinet meeting at Camp David during his first term, though it was not televised.

Kennedy delivered the remarks before briefing the Cabinet on efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services to lower prescription drug prices, including medications used to treat obesity, and discussing the administration's ongoing autism review.

The comparison also came months after a separate dispute involving the Kennedy name. Last year, a Trump-backed board approved adding the president's name to the Kennedy Center, but a federal judge in May this year ruled that the venue could not be renamed without congressional approval and ordered Trump's name be removed from the building.